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Bleeding Green Nation
NFL Playoff Picture: Jayden Daniels Hail Mary prevents Eagles from taking first place in the NFC East standings
Well, that’s incredibly annoying.
Much to the Eagles’ chagrin, the Commanders got one with Jayden Daniels heaving up a Hail Mary touchdown to Noah Brown.
Pretty annoying for multiple reasons!
- The Eagles failing to move into first place.
- The Commanders not even playing all that well, failing to score a touchdown before this final play, and winning anyway.
- Daniels looking like a problem the Eagles will have to deal with in their division for years to come.
- Washington having this good vibes season, turning a page to a new era under different ownership. Just kinda feels like it’s their year in the division.
The Commanders are now 6-2. Next up on their schedule: a road game against the lowly New York Giants and a home game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Then they’ll face the Eagles in Philly on Thursday Night Football in Week 11. It’s looking like that one has the makings of a really good and important game.
PROJECTED PLAYOFF TEAMS
DIVISION LEADERS
1) Detroit Lions: 6-1
2) Washington Commanders: 6-2
3) Atlanta Falcons: 5-3
4) Arizona Cardinals: 4-4
WILD CARD TEAMS
5) Green Bay Packers: 6-2
6) Minnesota Vikings: 5-2
7) Philadelphia Eagles: 5-2
ESPN
Frustrated Dak vows 3-4 Cowboys won’t fade away
The last time the Cowboys had a 3-4 record with a healthy Dak Prescott at quarterback was 2018. In 2020, the Cowboys were 2-5 on their way to 2-7, but Prescott suffered a compound fracture and dislocation of his right ankle in the fifth game of the season.
The Cowboys’ next four opponents — the Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles, Houston Texans and Washington Commanders — are a combined 22-9 after each won on Sunday.
Frustration…is growing. The Cowboys have lost four straight games to the 49ers, including two postseason contests and three in a row at Levi’s Stadium.
[A]fter being outscored 21-0 and outgained 167 yards to 16 in the third quarter, the Cowboys still had a chance to pull out an improbable victory, but Prescott had four straight incompletions after taking over with 3:05 to play.
Prescott became the first Cowboys quarterback with two interceptions in three straight games since Troy Aikman in 1992, according to ESPN Research.
[I’m] personally frustrated — frustrated myself in my play. I imagine the rest of the guys are,” Prescott said. “Not getting the win, two in a row now, sitting at 3-4. But I can definitely tell you that nobody’s shaken or giving up. Frustration is very high. But it’s a long season. I mean it’s a long season.”
Pro Football Talk
Trevon Diggs confronts reporter who questioned his effort on a key play
Things are not going well in Dallas.
Sunday night’s loss to the 49ers was punctuated by cornerback Trevon Diggs — who declined to talk to reporters in the locker room — confronting a reporter in the hallway at Levi’s Stadium.
Mike Leslie of WFAA had reposted video of Diggs seemingly not going all out in an effort to tackle 49ers tight end George Kittle during a second quarter catch-and-run.
What is Trevon Diggs doing on this play? https://t.co/YDBLTR9cib
— Mike Leslie (@MikeLeslieWFAA) October 28, 2024
Diggs comes out of the locker room to confront a reporter for a social media post. #Cowboys
@NBCDFWSports pic.twitter.com/2iDdVjdz69— Newy Scruggs (@newyscruggs) October 28, 2024
I do own the video. Credit my account.
— Newy Scruggs (@newyscruggs) October 28, 2024
NFL.com
2024 NFL Season, Week 8: What We Learned from Sunday’s games
Philadelphia Eagles 37, Cincinnati Bengals 17
Eagles hot again after third straight victory. The Eagles have looked like a different team since the bye, with their defensive improvement leading the way. The Bengals gained 175 yards on their first three drives, but they missed a field goal on the third drive to keep it a one-score game. After the Eagles’ offense warmed up, the defense took over in the third quarter, in spite of cornerback Darius Slay (groin) leaving the game. After the Eagles took a 24-17 lead, they stopped the Bengals on fourth down, with rookie Cooper DeJean tackling Ja’Marr Chase for a loss. That was followed by a terrific interception from Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, with a big assist from Isaiah Rodgers, who tipped the pass straight to his teammates. Believe it or not, that was the Eagles’ first takeaway since Week 3 and only their third of the season. Turnover No. 4 came on the next series when Zack Baun knocked the ball loose from Mike Gesicki, which led to an insurance field goal from the Eagles. Things looked dicey early as the Bengals nickeled and dimed their way down the field, but the Eagles rallied well and had their best defensive showing against a top offense this season.
Next Gen Stats Insight for Eagles-Bengals (via NFL Pro): Eagles left tackle Fred Johnson allowed only one pressure on 22 pass-blocking snaps (4.5%), his lowest pressure rate allowed this season. Johnson allowed one pressure to the Bengals’ Trey Hendrickson on 13 matchups (7.7%), the second-lowest pressure rate allowed to Hendrickson by any offensive lineman this season (minimum five matchups).
NFL Research: Hurts had his first career game with three or more rushing TDs and one or more passing TDs.
Washington Commanders 18, Chicago Bears 15
Hail Jayden! Commanders win on last-play heave. A dominant first half turned into what looked like a disappointing loss for Dan Quinn’s team. With two seconds remaining, Washington had one last prayer. Quarterback Jayden Daniels avoided pressure for 12.7 seconds before chucking the pigskin 54.5 air yards into the end zone. The ball was deflected backward where Washington wideout Noah Brown gobbled it up for the game-winning score. The Commanders controlled the first half, generating 267 yards to 90 for Chicago. However, red zone failures kept the Bears in the contest. Washington settled for four field goals on the day and didn’t reach paydirt until the final play. Daniels looked fine playing through a rib injury that had the quarterback questionable entering the game. He threw for 326 yards and a TD while rushing for 52 yards on eight totes. The offense couldn’t get going in the second half, punting four times and missing a field goal. But with the game on the line, Daniels spun one last spell to pull out the victory.
Commanders D continues to evolve. For much of the game, Quinn’s defense discombobulated the rookie quarterback, stymied Swift and kept the Bears offense in check. Despite not having a dominant edge presence, the Commanders were able to collapse the pocket. Bobby Wagner has been a stud in the middle and Frankie Luvu is a menacing demon. The secondary, which was picked on early in the season, did a solid job on the Bears’ weapons. As the season has gone, Quinn has been able to coach up solid performances from his defense. Sunday, they might have stubbed their toe in the fourth quarter with a few misses, but it was enough to give Daniels just enough time to finally find the end zone.
Next Gen Stats Insight for Bears-Commanders (via NFL Pro): Jayden Daniels held onto the ball for 12.79 seconds on his game-winning 52-yard Hail Mary touchdown to Noah Brown, the first TD pass with a time to throw over 10 seconds in the Next Gen Stats era (since 2016).
NFL Research: The 52-yard Hail Mary was the second-longest game-winning TD pass by a rookie as time expired in the 4th quarter in NFL history, behind a 56-yard TD pass by Tim Couch to Kevin Johnson on Halloween 1999.
San Francisco 49ers 30, Dallas Cowboys 24
Desperate times for Dallas. The Cowboys are 3-4 after their second consecutive loss, so there’s still ample time for an about-face on a troubling run of play. However, this was a rather lifeless showing that offers little optimism for a positive turn in the road. Though the Cowboys’ beleaguered defense held the 49ers to six points through the first half, they’d still allowed 214 yards at that point. Brock Purdy, Kittle and Co. came out swinging in the second half to score touchdowns on three straight drives and end the night with 469 yards in total. Meanwhile, Dak Prescott and the Dallas offense lingered along without an answer until a wide-open CeeDee Lamb caught a score with just under eight minutes to go. Lamb had another score and all of a sudden the Cowboys were within six points. However, with a go-ahead opportunity, Dallas went four-and-out, failing to gain a yard on a quartet of Prescott incompletions. Prescott also had a pair of interceptions, giving him multiple picks in a league-high four games this season. Heavy is the helmet for the face of the franchise, but he’s not solely to blame. If this was 2019, the Cowboys would’ve had a pair of Pro Bowlers at running back. Unfortunately for Dallas and its offense, Ezekiel Elliott and Dalvin Cook are each far removed from their all-star form and it showed Sunday — as it has for the running game all year. The two combined for 46 yards on 16 carries, as the team had just 56 net yards rushing — well less than its NFL-worst 77.2 yards per game entering the day. Two weeks after a horrendous loss to the Detroit Lions, the Cowboys returned to the field and are left to answer many of the same questions after another disenchanting loss. This one was closer than the last, but no less worrisome.
NFL.com
2024 NFL Season, Week 8: Four things to watch for in Giants-Steelers on Monday night
The Giants RBs need to step up. Replacing Saquon Barkley has not gone as the Giants envisioned it so far. It came back to bite New York when it faced Barkley last week, giving up a season-high 269 rushing yards. The free-agent signing of Devin Singletary has had some bright moments, but injury has caused the veteran RB to miss two games. In Singletary’s absence, Tyrone Tracy Jr. has emerged as a pass-catching back for Jones. In his first two starts in Week 5 and 6, Tracy contributed 100-plus scrimmage yards. New York ranks 25th in rushing yards and will need the ground game with Singletary and Tracy to get the offense going early against a tough Steelers defense. New York will need more contributors like Singletary, Tracy and others to pull off an upset in Pittsburgh.
The Athletic (paywall)
NFL Week 8 takeaways: Are the Commanders good, lucky or both? Are the Eagles back?
Nguyen:The questions I have regarding the Commanders is whether offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury can keep the offense humming; his offenses in Arizona sputtered out later in the season. I think it has to do with teams catching up with their no-huddle signals. Also, can this defense continue to show improvement? It has only given up more than 15 points once in the last five games.
Pompei: No one expects that the Commanders will be in the Super Bowl, but the whole of their team is greater than the sum of their parts, and they have a knack for doing what they need to do to win. That’s a credit to Dan Quinn and his coaching staff, and it’s a credit to Daniels, the instant star of 2024.
Howe: Never apologize for a win. Yes, the Commanders needed to catch a lot of breaks to beat the Bears, but good for them for competing in those situations to earn those breaks. A Hail Mary can be fluky, but the Commanders did everything right to be in position to execute. An offensive lineman shouldn’t be taking a handoff at the goal line, but the Commanders were heady enough to attack the ball. And Caleb Williams has been playing pretty well of late, but Quinn’s defense made him struggle for much of that game.
Pompei: The Eagles have outscored their last two opponents by a combined 45 points, and the Bengals aren’t a punching bag. Since the third week of the season, opponents are averaging just 12.8 points per game against Fangio’s defense. Barkley has been one of the most consistent runners in the league, as well as one of the most dynamic. A tough defense and a strong running game almost always wins.
Howe: The Eagles looked out of sorts even as they were winning, and it was tough to assess their progress in prior victories against the Browns and New York Giants. The Eagles are healthier at receiver, have a terrific ground game and they’re improving on defense. With their experience, they’re well-equipped to potentially outlast the Commanders for the division title.
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ESPN
Bears’ Tyrique Stevenson apologizes for ‘lack of focus’ on Commanders’ Hail Mary
Chicago Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson apologized Sunday night after he was seen taunting the Washington crowd seconds before he and his teammates gave up a Hail Mary touchdown with time expired to lose to the Commanders 18-15.
Video posted on social media showed Stevenson pointing toward the stands and raising his arms in the air with his back to the line of scrimmage when the ball was snapped. He was late to get to the play, then tipped the ball up, only for Washington wideout Noah Brown to catch it in the end zone.
“To Chicago and teammates my apologies for lack of awareness and focus,” Stevenson wrote on social media. “The game ain’t over until zeros hit the clock. Can’t take anything for granted. Notes taken, improvement will happen.”
ESPN
Richardson ‘needed a breather’ in second half of Colts’ loss
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson wasn’t on the field for a late-third-quarter play in a game in which his team trailed by two scores and later lost.
Curiously, Richardson was on the sideline not because he was hurt but, rather, because he was exhausted.
The second-year quarterback exited the game after scrambling around furiously on the previous two plays against the Houston Texans’ defense. On a second-and-goal play from the Houston 23-yard line, Richardson shook off a would-be sack from defensive tackle Folorunso Fatukasi before turning up the field and looking for a target. Richardson ended up keeping the ball and was ultimately tackled by linebacker Jake Hansen for no gain.
Richardson got up slowly and headed to the nearby Colts sideline, tapping his helmet while in route. On the sideline, he immediately took a knee.
“I was tired,” he said. “I ain’t gonna lie. That was a lot of running right there. I didn’t think I was going to be able to go that next play, so I just told [Colts coach] Shane [Steichen] I just needed a break right there.”
The strange string of events is only going to intensify the discourse around Richardson, whose season-long struggles have been a weekly challenge for the Colts to navigate. The fourth pick in the 2023 draft, Richardson has completed 44.4% of his pass attempts on the season after Sunday’s 10-for-32, 175-yard effort.